


the timeless children

by oncomingstorm13



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Do it for them, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gallifrey, Nightmares, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Softness, Thoschei, Time Lords and Ladies (Doctor Who), Touch, i love these babies so much so you better fricken read this, immortal idiots, longing probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24566800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oncomingstorm13/pseuds/oncomingstorm13
Summary: basically just a collection of Thoschei (Doctor/Master) little fics :)fluff, angst, softness, decent writing, the works <3
Relationships: The Doctor | Theta Sigma/The Master | Koschei (Doctor Who: Academy Era), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	the timeless children

**Author's Note:**

> in which the Doctor and the Master are traveling with each other, finding trust, and someone has nightmares.

They had begun to recover. From each other, from the Time War, from the events that had made their lives hell in some mutual fashion over the centuries.

Well, mostly. 

The Doctor, being the Doctor, still had some issues with trust. When she wasn't having one of her better days, she'd find herself watching him, old habits of paranoia disguised as rational apprehension seeping in at the back of her mind. She'd be irritated, or tired, or anxious for some separate reason, and something guilty and shameful would appear, a worry about him betraying her, turning to his old ways, hurting her. But soon, she'd shake free of it when she saw him being his new, or rather, old self; when she saw him as Koschei again, rather than the Master. 

As for the Master, he had some of his own doubts still. He still had temptations, little tuggings at the darker parts of his mind that told him to do those things that she had hated, those things that deep in his hearts _he_ had always hated but had always felt compelled to do, to leave her, even. On _his_ worst days, he convinced himself that they would never work, that they were doomed to clash one final time and be at odds for the rest of the duration of the universe. But, as he watched the Doctor, in her actions and eloquent words of goodness, he was reminded of who he truly was or could be, was reminded of the admiration he once had for little Theta as a child and the desire to do right by his childhood crush, and of course, now, by her. 

Beyond their doubting, their suspicions that crept in when their guards were down, they thrived on consistently being back in each other's lives for the first time in an eternity. Outwardly, they were subtle about it, but inwardly, they adored being with each other again in such an intimate life. 

They had begun traveling together, you see, in the Doctor's TARDIS. The Master wasn't the sentimental type, not more for machines, anyway, and the Doctor very much was, so it wasn't a hard decision to make, leaving his TARDIS behind. The only thing they were hesitant about was being so close together. Not necessarily in a physical sense, though it did tend to happen, but in such a sudden place of forced trust. But they had no one else at the moment. They only had each other. Over the years, they'd had others: the Doctor had her friends, her "fam," and the Master had what he usually considered to be "playmates" (emphasis on "play," the wicked man), but in the end, they were each other's oldest friends. They were some of the oldest beings in their known universe, and it was hard to find someone out there who knew what it felt like, to live that long and go a little mad from what you've seen. So, without much actual discussion and with more of an unspoken, understood agreement, they decided that it was best to finally stick together. 

It wasn't all just learning to trust and trying to be better, them traveling together. In fact, much of it was just pure thrill-seeking and enjoying each other's company. They traveled to burning stars and bustling alien cities on a whim, exploring and delighting in the moment, only occasionally happening upon trouble and the Doctor being eager to fix it while the Master reluctantly provided the bare minimum of assistance. She was happy to have him at her side again, for once helping the universe instead of attempting to destroy it, and he was secretly a tiny bit pleased with being her little aide, especially since he could see the joy she got from being able to help and him helping along with her. 

There was lots of...confusion, as well. The Doctor and the Master had known each other almost their entire lives, thousands of years, and their intimate connection and some sort of love for each other had been buried deep for about that same amount of time, and though it was there, they had trouble unearthing it at first. For a while, neither of them knew if they were even friends, assuming disappointedly that perhaps it was a symbiotic relationship of sorts, for each other's own mutual protection. It wasn't until they began acknowledging each other's needs and pains and seeing a return of affection and care that they realized more was occurring in their hearts.

For instance, one extreme issue they both shared was the nightmares. Even almost-immortals have nightmares, maybe even more so than the average life-spanned being. After all, they had lived so long and experienced so many terrors. They were unfortunate enough to have seen the horrors of the Daleks, the Cybermen, and most importantly and wretchedly the dastardly sins of their own race; but they were fortunate enough to have another being close to them who had suffered practically the same amount and same frequency of such horrors. And close is what they became, for they started comforting each other at the times of their nightmares and eventually it became a given to always be there, just in case.

The Master was the first to show signs of it. The Doctor, who'd had several friends staying on board with her over the years, had learned to hide much of the effects of her nightmares to protect them, maybe even to protect herself as well. The Master did not have as much experience with this and was not as efficient at hiding his screams.

One night, the Doctor, though exhausted, hadn't been able to sleep, so she was tinkering on and around and under the TARDIS console to keep herself busy until the Master was awake again. Then, in the very early hours of what she assumed to be morning, the TARDIS allowed a brief audio transmission from his room to play from the console for her to hear. To her confusion, she heard his heavy breathing, his bedsheets ruffling and springs creaking under his tossing and turning, and the occasional unsettled and incoherent sleep talking. It was only when his dreams made him choke out a scream which sent shivers of terror down her spine that she sprinted to his room. 

"Master, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" she asked as she rushed into the room, spilling in soft, ambient light from the TARDIS hall. She rushed to his side. He was still muttering incoherently and upsetly and was clenching his eyes tighter than they should be in peaceful sleep. He tossed and turned and breathed heavily and she stood watching him, deciding whether to wake him or not, trying to predict whether he would be grateful or hate her for disturbing his sleep, no matter how disturbed it already was.

Then, he cried out again, and the Doctor was quick to break him from the nightmare. She shook him as gently as she could when one is trying to desperately and effectively shake one awake. The Master's eyes began to slowly open as he tried to re-orient himself. "What–what's happening?"

"You were having a nightmare," the Doctor informed. 

"Oh, yes, I was," he mumbled, looking around the darkened room. He began to sit up. "They were–they were taking me to the Untempered Schism– and I saw the most horrible things…"

To the Doctor's shock, the Master began to sniffle, and in the dim light that poured in from the door she saw his eyes welling up, him quickly wiping away at the tears that tried to fall. The Doctor was unsure of what to do, so she just listened.

"I saw the Nightmare Child. And the Hybrid, or Hybrids, something my mind made it to be, something horrible, and all of time, and you and me...I saw us dying thousands of times! Over and over and over and over–!"

He fell back onto his pillow and his body shook with sobs as he curled up like a child. 

Some nurturing instinct overcame the Doctor, and she kneeled next to his bed. With a hesitating hand, she began to stroke the Master's damp hair and forehead, and asked in a calm, gentle voice, just above a whisper,

"Koschei...would you like a hug?"

His body stilled a little at the sudden touch, and his eyes stared off to the side, contemplating her offer. Normally, he'd think this was a trick, accuse her of mocking him and his nightmares and his childishness, but he really did need one, and she had used his childhood name for the first time since they were actually children. So either that had to genuinely mean something, or she was being very, very cruel.

"I suppose so."

He sat up and she sat on the bed next to him, arms outstretched but not so much that they were intimidating or pressuring. He practically fell into them, and he felt both a new apprehension, his hearts beating faster, and a familiar, relieving comfort as she wrapped her arms around him and tightened her hold. 

They sat for a moment, very aware of each other's warmth and physical presence, and attempting to be very unaware of each other's and each's own heartbeats. It was awkward, but worth it. 

The Doctor tried to pull away, but the Master didn't let her; instead, he embraced her tighter, pulling her closer to him, his chin digging into her neck. She couldn't see it, but his eyes were shut tightly. 

"Sorry," he muttered, embarrassment burning his whole body, "I... I need more of this."

She hummed in acknowledgment and pulled him closer to her, just as he had. 

"You've been through it, haven't you?" said the Doctor. It was more of a statement than a question.

"I–" he sighed. "Yes." Then, he pulled away quickly, suddenly uncertain and unwilling to keep embracing her. "And so have you. You don't need my trauma to pile onto your plate." The Master was dismissing himself. "Go on, get sleep. I'm okay."

The Doctor shook her head. "I'm fine! Can't sleep anyway."

"Doctor, I know for a fact that you aren't fine."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because you have nightmares too."

The Doctor hesitated, taken aback. "How do you know that?"

"You've heard me shout in my sleep, I've heard you cry out in yours." The Master shrugged. "I never thought I should come and help you, though."

The Doctor pondered this and thought that she would have very much appreciated help through those nightmares, actually. "Why not?"

"I don't know which of those nightmares are caused by me...I wouldn't want to scare you even more." The Master looked away from her.

Admittedly, the Doctor thought, many of her nightmares resulted from some of his horrifying past actions. But somehow, something deep inside her had always attempted to separate his evil deeds from him, tried to make his plots distinct from her once friend. It was a toxic trait all those years, but perhaps now, it served some use.

"No, you wouldn't scare me more. In fact, I…" she sighed, deciding that these late hours might as well be the right time for confessions. "I find myself very, very lonely those nights."

The Master studied her face. He couldn't decipher quite what she meant by this. He chose to leave the comment alone, think about it later.

"Well, anyway, I better get back to those bad dreams. What's that old saying? 'No rest for the wicked?'" He moved to lay back down and pull the covers over him, but stopped when he looked at the Doctor, who remained still. "What? Go away, can't you take a hint?"

"I'm not leaving you."

"What? Doctor, I'm fine."

" _Fine_? When was the last time either of us were actually fine, Master?" 

She grabbed his arm that was outside of his blankets and roughly pulled him back up toward her, eliciting an annoyed and surprised groan from him. 

This time, she studied his face as she thought about how to phrase her thoughts. His deep brown eyes she was just starting to get used to, his unshaved beard, his bed-messed hair, it was all distracting but allowed for a balance between her thinking and reality.

"Do you want me to stay here with you tonight?"

The Master, his eyes a bit panicked but his mouth scoffing, pulled his arm away from her. "What? No. Like I said, I'm fine–"

"I haven't been able to sleep." This ruse was more for his sake than hers, but she played into it well, trying to get him to think _he_ had the upper hand, that _she_ was the more vulnerable one. Even in feats of friendship, the Doctor had to play little tricks on the Master. "It would help me. Is that okay?"

He let out a breath, then agreed. "Fine. Just so you can sleep better, I suppose."

She grinned gratefully. "Thank you."

As the Master moved to get under the sheets, trying not to fixate his eyes on her curiously, the Doctor moved to the other side of his bed and lifted the covers, looking at him for approval. He nodded, watching her with interest. He was confused by her sudden desire to jump into bed with him, but he wasn't going to question it. He needed someone there with him, or the nightmares would continue torturing him. But the main point was to stop them torturing her, of course.

Therefore, he thought she could do with some more affection as well. 

Facing each other, they felt their hearts speeding up again, not at all used to being so close to someone. It had been quite a while for both of them, and although it was a bit awkward, it was also a major relief. 

The Master reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, doing so slowly to read how she would react. She just kept looking at him, which felt eerie, but when he finally had the courage to softly stroke her arm, she smiled. He was shocked by such sweetness, such humility, such...something else... in her eyes. It was as if the stars themselves had moved there and were encouraging him. 

He moved himself closer to her, feeling braver from the effect of her smile. Moving his hand toward her head, he stroked her cheek, ghosting his knuckles over her skin. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she kept smiling. His hearts beat even faster. 

In the not too distant past, she would have jumped away from the very notion his touch, recoiling. To be fair, he would have too– he knew he had become such a wretched, evil, disaster of a person since the Time War, and even before, when he was just having fun toying with her, she seemed to have hated him. But now? Now she was _enjoying_ his gentle hand, she was _willingly_ laying next to him, she trusted him–if trusted was the right word–to save her from the nightmares he could barely tolerate himself. He didn't think he believed in any sort of god or higher being, but if he did, this would have been Their miracle.

After a moment of him softly touching her face, her eyes partially opened, so she could reach out her own hand. Shock shuddered through his body and he froze as she gently placed her fingertips beneath his jaw, touching just where his unkempt beard ended and the skin there began. Her thumb brushed over his lower cheek and as he felt it, he stared at her like an animal caught in headlights, unsure how to remember to move. 

The Doctor chuckled. “You should see your face right now,” she said, her words teasing but her voice so low and gentle. “It’s hilarious.”

The Master, remembering himself, let out a nervous laugh. “Shut up.” 

_You know I’m not used to this_ , he wanted to say. There were so many things he wanted to say every second he spent in her presence, but he still was unsure if he could trust her, still unsure if he wanted to be vulnerable again, after all these years. 

His body able to function again, though with his confidence pleasantly shaken, the Master carefully brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered closed again, letting her hand that was touching his face fall, brushing against his bare neck and collarbone. A chill went up his spine.

  
  


It took everything in him not to pull away out of fear: fear that she would leave him suddenly, fear that he would go one step too far and scare _her_. It was incredibly frightening being this close to someone again but incredibly exhilarating as well. It was like the high he used to get from doing...those things, the things that had driven her so far away from him...but while this welcome, missed feeling of nervous and intriguing energy buzzed throughout his entire body, it was innocent, this time, and that felt both unsettling and immensely gratifying. 

The Doctor’s eyes flew open when she realized her hand had fallen to a place where touch might not be welcome, pulling it away abruptly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

Something in his eyes were frantic, but then, determined. “Oh, no. Please, please don’t be.” He moved closer to her, close enough now that they could feel each other’s heated breaths. The Master snaked his arms beneath hers and, as gently and cautiously as he could, pulled her toward him. Her breath hitched in her throat, thrown off by the sudden closeness. 

But she really, _really_ didn’t mind. 

After all, she was the one who was pretending to need it. Okay, she _did_ need it, for quite some time now, but she believed that the Master probably needed it more. She knew he wasn’t as, well, _friendly_ as she was, and probably hadn’t had much genuine contact with others in a rather long time. And while she had seen so much horror in her life, in all likelihood, he could have seen so much more, especially being the one at the scene of the crime more often than not. She needed to sleep, and he needed her. And she supposed, if she was really honest with herself, they needed each other, desperately, always and forever.

But they weren’t quite there yet. At least, they wouldn’t say so to each other. But for now, this was good. She sighed, despite herself. _Really_ good. 

She nuzzled her head into his chest, her hair brushing against his chin. His heart fluttered happily at the enthusiastic reciprocation. This was okay. She _wanted_ to be with him, here, now, in the middle of one of his darkest nights.

He would never be able to express how grateful he was for her. 

And she, _she_ would never be able to express how secretly overjoyed she was to have her friend back. When they were children, oh so long ago, they had spent several nights like this, wrapped in each other’s arms like life depended on it, because sometimes, with all the fear they had for the universe and the Time Lords and their futures, and _especially_ the nightmares, it felt like it did. She was glad to have someone to cling to again, someone who needed her just as much as she needed him. 

There was a presence just outside her mind, as if someone was lingering outside a door, wishing to be welcomed in. 

_Theta,the_ Master spoke in her mind. 

Her eyes closed. She let him in. 

_Koschei._

She felt quiet happiness radiating from his mind. It would have been a small laugh if it had been spoken. 

_I like using our names. It feels…_

_Right_ , said the Doctor. _It feels very right._

He hummed in agreement. She couldn’t tell if it was outwardly or in her mind, but either way, his delight was slowly seeping into her, and she felt like giggling.

_It’s also nice...being so close to you again_ , the Master dared to admit. 

_Do you mean actually or in here?_

_Oh, both,_ he sighed. _Both are absolutely wonderful, dear._

_Mm. You’re so cheesy when you say “dear.”_

_You know you like it, love._

_Oh, and that. Also cheesy, that._

_Do you think I care, dear?_ And he pulled her in tighter sending shockwaves of bliss through her body. She had almost forgotten, with him so present in her mind, that their arms were wrapped around each other. 

He saw the colors in her mind as translated from the oxytocin he had made erupt in her body, and he laughed delightedly. He knew he had to have already had the same effects at work in his own mind. 

_I have missed this so_ much, _Theta. How long has it been?_

_Quite a while. I’ve missed it too._

From that point, they didn’t need to speak, not out loud and certainly not in their minds. They said what needed to be said. Now, all that was left was trying to sleep. Maybe. Though they were very much at peace, very much in a state of bliss being in each other’s arms and each other’s minds, they were also very much awake and intrigued by this new-familiar experience. It was like being children again, but with so much more to explore in each other’s minds, and so much more in each other’s hearts, hidden, but trying to spill free, sooner or later.

They did fall asleep after a while, however. One drifted off quite soon after the other, their bodies synced just as their minds were.

In the morning, they were still in the same position. But they had rested, fully, for the first time in a while. And without needing to speak on it, they knew that the agreement was to continue this other nights. No more nightmares any time soon. 

  
  



End file.
